House Proud

I was lucky enough to grow up in a clean house. Momma always had a chore list for me and we always did a sweep through the house for clutter and dust and junk before company came over. Still, I remember clutter gathering in piles that I never noticed in other people’s homes when I was little.

As an adult, I find that I have a system of “let-it-get-so-bad-that-I-can’t-stand-it-then-clean-it”. I never let it get so bad that it seems like hobos live here, but I wonder what hobo homes really look like. I feel like no one else works this way and it makes me crazy. Steve and I have been watching Hoarders has helped me realize that I’m not off the deep end by any means, but I still wonder if everyone else’s homes are as model perfect as they seem. I swear, I think my grandparents and aunt and childhood bff’s homes of my youth have made me feel like I’m living like a slob.

I would love to post a picture of the nest that Rubydog and I have been living in while it has been so cold. It looks like this:

If zoomed out, it really looks like this:

That’s right, You can see makeup remover wipes, an empty plastic cup, stuff for doing my nails, a bra!, chips and dip, stuff from my GLAM display and more… it’s like a game of I Spy! (What you can’t see were the jeans I took off and left on the living room floor, 5 pairs of shoes, all the game controllers strewn about…) I figure it can’t be too bad… I was able to clean it up in 10 minutes, but I wonder if I’m the only one who lives like this.

Maybe my standards of what constitutes a clean house are just too high. Do I really need to clean my windowsills every week? Can’t I be pleased that I vacuumed up the majority of dog hair from the couches and floor? Isn’t it enough that my bathroom isn’t moldy and that I wash the rugs in there regularly?

I’ve been off my OCD medication for a year and 3 months now. I feel like I’m doing pretty well with handling messes without it. When I think back to my medicated years, I remember the house being cleaner, but maybe it wasn’t. We’ll probably never know!

Christmas

We had a quiet Christmas this year. I “finished” my job at Sally two days before Christmas and Momma came up on the 23rd. Steve somehow started his holiday vacation on the 23rd as well and the festivities began!

I cooked chicken and rice and a ham and Momma made a pumpkin pie and stuffed mushrooms. It was delicious! When dinner was almost over we called our neighbor Vincent over so we could give him some of our food. We had just made way too much!

On Christmas Eve we mostly stuck around the house and watched movies. Momma and I went to the candlelight service at Harvest Christian Church. It was a lovely service and a small group. I’m looking forward to going back there this year. Steve went with our friend Peter to see True Grit while we were at church. When we got home Momma and I watched The Proposal and laughed so hard. I expected it to be cute, but I liked it much more than I expected. We were too tired to finish it so we saved the end for Christmas morning.

In the morning we got up and had ham biscuits! We finished The Proposal and watched a documentary about dogs on Netflix until the Clay family rang the doorbell. We had a nice lunch at Picadilly and a great visit. They stayed through the evening because of the rain and we even had time to put together a puzzle.

When everyone left Momma went out to her van and brought in all the photo albums that we’ve been meaning to go through and tidy up since… well… forever. I think I’ll devote a post to that on its own.

The day after Christmas was spent with all three of us curled up on different parts of the couch watching tv. We watched documentaries and movies and never left the house.

We worked on the family history off and on for days. We made our way from the 1600s to the 1970s. All we have left to do is 1970-2011.

Momma went home on Thursday after Steve and I went to the Magic Kingdom with our friends Peter and Margeaux. We had tickets because my mom had done the Outsider Art Show at the House of Blues at Downtown Disney for the last few years. We had four complimentary tickets (two of them expired on the 30th). We ended up going during the busiest week of the year and the trip really deserves a post of its own.

New Years Eve was spent with Will and Karen. We had dinner at Sonny’s BBQ and went back to our house to watch TV shows but we ended up sitting up and talking til the wee hour of 11 o’clock. By 11:15 I was sure I’d be in bed, but I picked up the xbox controller and somehow played Red Dead Redemption until 1am. I should mention that I did so while wearing a “coonskin” cap I purchased at Disney the day before. I should mention that I bought it right after saying “I’ll wear it for luck while I play Red Dead Redemption!”

That brings me up to 2011. I’ll have some details on the family history and our trip to Disney.

xo
Kathleen

Another new year

This year, I don’t feel the need for a new beginning. I’ve always loved having a clean slate, but this year I feel pretty good about who I am and where I stand in life.

To recap 2010:
I left the Department of History at UF to go to massage school.
I spent six beautiful months at Florida School of Massage.
I went back to work at Sally Beauty Supply part time.
I got my Massage License!
I slowly have begun to build a practice.
Steve started to teach me to play the piano.
I started working at Sally almost full time and put massage on hold.
I did GLAM for the second year and it was awesome!
I quit Sally right before Christmas.
Steve and I went to Disney!
I wasn’t sick all year!

I definitely count myself lucky to have a husband as patient and understanding as I do. Mr. Clay has been my rock this year and has really put up with so much as I have worked toward becoming my authentic self this year.

I can’t imagine a more patient man. It’s funny, I keep coming up with that adjective. He seems to be tireless when it comes to explaining music theory when I’m fidgety and ready to do something else. He works hard all day and hasn’t complained about me taking half a year off to go to school or only working part time the rest of the year. He nudges me toward getting a job or toward not quitting that job once I have it, but he doesn’t push me. He’s probably figured out that pushing me just brings me to a stop!

There are a few things I might have done differently this year, but all in all, I’m proud of the woman I’ve become. I’m planning and hoping to post more this year. I probably say this every year and every year I’m paralyzed by the fear of imperfection. I worry that what I post isn’t worth reading or that there are so many blogs out there that I read that are beautiful and amazing and that I’ll never measure up. I’m tired of feeling that way. I’m ready to put myself out there and see what happens.